F-scott-Fitzgerald

F.ScottFitzgerald•Overallintroduction•FrancisScottKeyFitzgerald(September24,1896–December21,1940)wasanAmericanauthorofnovelsandshortstories,whoseworksaretheparadigmwritingsoftheJazzAge,atermhecoinedhimself.HeiswidelyregardedasoneofthegreatestAmericanwritersofthe20thcentury.FitzgeraldisconsideredamemberoftheLostGenerationofthe1920s.Hefinishedfournovels:ThisSideofParadise,TheBeautifulandDamned,TheGreatGatsby—hismostfamous—andTenderIstheNight.Afifth,unfinishednovel,TheLoveoftheLastTycoon,waspublishedposthumously.Fitzgeraldalsowrotemanyshortstoriesthattreatthemesofyouthandpromisealongwithdespairandage.•TheGreatGatsbyhasbeenthebasisfornumerousfilmsofthesamename,spanningnearly90years;1926,1949,1974,2000,andanupcoming2013adaptation.In1958hislifefrom1937to1940wasdramatizedinBelovedInfidel.Lifeandcareer•Bornin1896inSaintPaul,MinnesotatoanuppermiddleclassIrishCatholicfamily,FitzgeraldspentthefirstdecadeofhischildhoodprimarilyinBuffalo,NewYork(1898–1901and1903–1908,withashortinterludeinSyracuse,NewYorkbetweenJanuary1901andSeptember1903)Hisparents,bothpracticingCatholics,sentFitzgeraldtotwoCatholicschoolsontheWestSideofBuffalo.•In1908,hisfatherwasfiredfromProcter&Gamble,andthefamilyreturnedtoMinnesota,whereFitzgeraldattendedSt.PaulAcademyinSt.Paulfrom1908to1911.Whenhewas13hesawhisfirstpieceofwritingappearinprint:adetectivestorypublishedintheschoolnewspaper.In1911,whenFitzgeraldwas15yearsold,hisparentssenthimtotheNewmanSchool,aprestigiousCatholicprepschoolinHackensack,NewJersey.TherehemetFatherSigourneyFay,whonoticedhisincipienttalentwiththewrittenwordandencouragedhimtopursuehisliteraryambitions.Militarycareer•FitzgeraldwascommissionedasecondlieutenantintheinfantryandassignedtoCampSheridanoutsideofMontgomery,Alabama.Whileatacountryclub,FitzgeraldmetandfellinlovewithZeldaSayre(1900–1948),thedaughterofanAlabamaSupremeCourtjudgeandthegoldengirl,inFitzgerald'sterms,ofMontgomeryyouthsociety.Thewarendedin1918,beforeFitzgeraldwaseverdeployed,anduponhisdischargehemovedtoNewYorkCityhopingtolaunchacareerinadvertisinglucrativeenoughtoconvinceZeldatomarryhim.HeworkedfortheBarronCollieradvertisingagency,livinginasingleroomat200ClaremontAvenue.Marriageanddeath•Zeldaacceptedhismarriageproposal,butaftersometimeanddespiteworkingatanadvertisingfirmandwritingshortstories,hewasunabletoconvinceherthathewouldbeabletosupporther,leadinghertobreakofftheengagement.Fitzgeraldreturnedtohisparents'houseat599SummitAvenue,onCathedralHill,inSt.Paul,toreviseTheRomanticEgoist,recastasThisSideofParadise,aboutthepost-WWIflappergeneration.Scottwassolowonfinancesthathetookupajobrepairingcarroofs.TherevisednovelwasacceptedbyScribner'sinthefallof1919,andZeldaandScottresumedtheirengagement.ThenovelwaspublishedonMarch26,1920,andbecameoneofthemostpopularbooksoftheyear.FitzgeraldandZeldaweremarriedinNewYork'sSt.Patrick'sCathedral.Theirdaughter(onlychild),FrancesScottScottieFitzgerald,wasbornonOctober26,1921.•Fitzgeralddiedatage44,becauseoftheheartattack,beforehecouldcompleteTheLoveoftheLastTycoon.Hismanuscript,whichincludedextensivenotesfortheunwrittenpartofthenovel'sstory,waseditedbyhisfriend,theliterarycriticEdmundWilson,andpublishedin1941asTheLastTycoon.In1994thebookwasreissuedundertheoriginaltitleTheLoveoftheLastTycoon,whichisnowagreedtohavebeenFitzgerald'spreferredtitle.Hisfuneralandgrave•HisbodywastransportedtoMaryland,wherehisfuneralwasattendedbytwentyorthirtypeopleinBethesda;amongtheattendantswerehisonlychild,FrancesScottieFitzgeraldLanahanSmiththenage19),andhiseditor,MaxwellPerkins.FitzgeraldwasoriginallyburiedinRockvilleUnionCemetery.•ZeldaandFitzgerald'sgraveinRockville,Maryland,inscribedwiththefinalsentenceofTheGreatGatsbyHisworks•Novels•ThisSideofParadise(NewYork:CharlesScribner'sSons,1920)•TheBeautifulandDamned(NewYork:Scribners,1922)•TheGreatGatsby(NewYork:Scribners,1925)•TenderIstheNight(NewYork:Scribners,1934)•TheLoveoftheLastTycoon–originallyTheLastTycoon–(NewYork:Scribners,publishedposthumously,1941)•FlappersandPhilosophers(NewYork:Scribners,1921)•TalesoftheJazzAge(NewYork:Scribners,1922)•AlltheSadYoungMen(NewYork:Scribners,1926)•TapsatReveille(NewYork:Scribners,1935)•AfternoonofanAuthor(NewYork:Scribners,1957)•BabylonRevisitedandOtherStories(NewYork:Scribners,1960)•ThePatHobbyStories(NewYork:Scribners,1962)•TheBasilandJosephineStories(NewYork:Scribners,1973)•ThePriceWasHigh:FiftyUncollectedStories(NewYork:HarcourtBraceJovanovich,1979)•TheShortStoriesofF.ScottFitzgerald(NewYork:Scribners,1989)Notableshortstories•BerniceBobsHerHair(1920)(inFlappersandPhilosophers)•HeadandShoulders(1920)(inFlappersandPhilosophers)•TheIcePalace(1920)(inFlappersandPhilosophersandBabylonRevisitedandOtherStories)•TheOffshorePirate(1920)(inFlappersandPhilosophers)•TheCuriousCaseofBenjaminButton(1921)(inTalesoftheJazzAge)•TheDiamondasBigastheRitz(1922)(inTalesoftheJazzAge)•WinterDreams(1922)(inAlltheSadYoungMen)•TheBabyParty(1925)(inAlltheSadYoungMen)•TheFreshestBoy(1928)(inTapsatReveille)•TheBridalParty(1930)•ANewLeaf(1931)•BabylonRevisited(1931)(inBabylonRevisitedand